When the Miami Dolphins should start looking to bolster their roster
By Brian Miller
Training camp is entering week two and the Miami Dolphins’ first pre-season game is only a week away but there are moves that could be made.
Whether by trade or by street free agent signing, the Dolphins need to start looking at the bigger picture sooner rather than later. For two reasons. One, injuries across the NFL will happen which will further deplete the available pool of free agents, and two, the more time they have with the team prior to the season’s start will help.
The Dolphins don’t have a lot of big needs and the starters are pretty much set in most cases but there is money available under the cap and spots on the roster that can be upgraded.
Trade options at this point of the season are not really all that rare but they don’t free flow either. Miami reportedly has teams interested in potentially landing Preston Williams. Whether that speculation is based in reality isn’t certain.
As it was said by Omar Kelly following the Williams press conference, teams have reached out about the player, potentially as a free agent pick-up if the Dolphins release him. Where Omar received his information isn’t known but Williams’ talent potential is such that he could draw interest in a trade, albeit a late-round draft pick or conditional pick based on playing time.
On the street, the biggest name still remains J.C. Tretter, the former Browns center who has yet to land on an NFL roster. Tretter hasn’t missed a game in a while and is a quality center but he does have injury concerns and misses a lot of practice time. For the Dolphins, relying on Connor Williams makes sense but there are reports that he is struggling with snaps.
If that is true, the Dolphins may want to get another proven center on the roster rather than cross-train Adam Pankey and wait for Michael Dieter to get healthy. Moving Williams back to his natural guard spot would solve the left side of the line completely.
Adding depth at the guard position makes sense as well but Miami seems content to develop the guys on the roster right now. Liam Eichenberg or Austin Jackson will likely play right tackle and the other should shift inside to guard. Robert Hunt will play one of the two guard spots but this comes back to the Tretter option. With Williams at guard on the left, Hunt at guard on the right, the only weak spot would be right tackle and that may not end up being that bad if the coaches can get the young guys trending forward.
Cornerback may actually be the biggest need for the Dolphins right now and the depth is a small concern. Adding another corner to provide depth isn’t a bad thing because right now, Noah Igbinoghene isn’t showing that he can be consistent.
Miami doesn’t need RB help or TE help but they do have tradeable assets including Myles Gaskin and Adam Shaheen. Returns won’t be high but anything is positive for players that could get lost in the shuffle of the pre-season ending cuts.
With only a week to go before the team’s first preseason game, Miami should start looking at who is available and after that game, they should have a better idea of who is expendable and who is not. We could start seeing moves following that game, sooner if there are any injuries.